KKSE (AM)

Last updated

KKSE
KKSE sports logo.png
Broadcast area Denver metropolitan area
Frequency 950 kHz
BrandingAltitude Sports AM 950
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Sports gambling
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
1923;101 years ago (1923)
Former call signs
  • KFEL (1923–1954)
  • KIMN (1954–1988)
  • KYGO (1988–1994)
  • KKFN (1994–2008)
  • KRWZ (2008–2016)
Call sign meaning
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 30839
Class B
Power 5,000  watts
Transmitter coordinates
 39°52′30″N104°56′0″W / 39.87500°N 104.93333°W / 39.87500; -104.93333
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.altitudesportsradio.com

KKSE (950 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Parker, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. The station is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures. [2] [3]

Contents

KKSE airs a sports gambling radio format branded as "Altitude Sports 950". KKSE has studios on South Colorado Boulevard in Glendale, with the AM transmitter located off Riverdale Road in Denver. [4] KSE Radio Ventures also owns sister stations KIMN and KXKL-FM.

KKSE-AM-FM have local sports hosts most of the day and carry syndicated programming from Fox Sports Radio nights and weekends. KKSE-AM-FM are the flagship stations for Denver Nuggets basketball, Colorado Avalanche hockey, Colorado Rapids soccer and Colorado Mammoth lacrosse. All four teams are co-owned with KKSE-AM-FM.

History

KFEL and KIMN

The station first signed on in 1923 as KFEL, owned by Gene O'Fallon and broadcasting from the Albany Hotel. [5] It is Denver's second-oldest radio station. After several frequency moves, it eventually settled on its current location of 950 AM. O'Fallon sold the station to Standard Examiner Publishing of Ogden, Utah, in 1954, and the new owners changed the call sign to KIMN. [6]

For most of the next three decades, KIMN was Denver's highly rated Top 40 outlet. It was KIMN that presented the Beatles at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in August 1964. [7] The station was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame for its contribution to the Colorado music scene in the 1950s and 1960s. [8] By the late 1980s, KIMN evolved from Top 40 to oldies.

Denver's first airborne traffic reporter was Don Martin on KIMN's "Air Alert", who later became the vice-president of news operations, and is considered the pioneer of live news coverage in Denver. In 2007, Martin was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame. [9] [10]

KYGO country

At Noon on April 26, 1988, after airing a 19-hour retrospective of KIMN's history, the station flipped to country music and adopted the KYGO call letters. The programming was separate from co-owned KYGO-FM. [11]

While the FM station concentrated on current and recent country hits, the AM used a deeper library and more personality. It was also a CBS Radio News Network affiliate. KYGO continued for six years playing country music before its owner, Jefferson-Pilot Communications decided on a new direction for the station. (Jefferson-Pilot later became the Lincoln Financial Group.)

Switch to sports

On October 12, 1994, the station changed its call sign to KKFN, and the station began adding sports talk programs to its schedule. On March 6, 1995, the station completed its shift to becoming the Denver market's first ever sports radio station as "AM 950 The Fan". (The KYGO call sign and country format moved to 1600 AM.) [12] [13]

On March 8, 2008, KKFN's sports format began simulcasting on 104.3 FM (formerly smooth jazz KJCD). [14] The simulcast only lasted six months.

Cruisin' Oldies

On September 2, 2008, the AM station became KRWZ with an oldies format, using the moniker "Cruisin' Oldies 950". [15] [16]

On December 8, 2014, Entercom announced it would purchase Lincoln Financial's entire 15-station lineup in a $106.5 million deal. Until the transfer was complete, Entercom operated the outlets under a local marketing agreement (LMA). On December 22, 2014, Entercom announced that it would retain KRWZ and its oldies format. [17] The FCC approved the deal on June 26, 2015. [18]

Return to sports

On December 17, 2015, Entercom announced it would sell KRWZ to KSE Radio Ventures, owned by Stan Kroenke. He added the station to his three recently acquired FM properties in the Denver market. KSE also announced that KRWZ would flip to a new format when the sale closes, as Entercom moved the oldies format to KEZW on December 27. [19] On the same day, KRWZ began stunting with mostly adult standards music, as well as redirecting listeners to KEZW.

Upon the change of ownership, KRWZ adopted the call letters KKSE. KSE announced that the station would return to sports talk and become "Altitude Sports 950" (named after KSE's Altitude cable channel). The new format's programming will include the Rich Eisen Show, along with a schedule of live and local programming. [20] [21] The station was to serve as the radio flagship for the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rapids, as well as the Colorado Mammoth (all of which are owned by Kroenke). [22]

The sale to KSE closed on March 14, 2016, and the station flipped to a simulcast of KWOF that day at Noon. "Altitude Sports 950" officially launched at 7 a.m. on April 8. [23] [24] KKSE entered a crowded sports talk field in the Denver market, with competitors including KDSP, KDCO and former sister stations KKFN and KEPN.

On September 17, 2018, KKSE moved its local programming to 92.5 FM, with 950 AM becoming mostly a pass-through for Fox Sports Radio programming. The move was made due to its new FM sister's stronger range. The AM station must conform its nighttime signal to protect XEQ-AM in Mexico City, while the FM station provides at least grade B coverage to almost all of north-central Colorado.

On October 29, 2021, KKSE announced that it would flip the 950 AM signal to a sports betting-focused format on November 1, carrying programming from VSiN outside of live game coverage. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXKL-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in Denver

KXKL-FM is a classic hits station serving the Denver metropolitan area. This station is licensed to Denver, Colorado and broadcasts with an ERP of 100 kW and is under ownership of Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures. Its studios are located on Colorado Boulevard in Glendale, and the transmitter is located on Mt. Morrison.

WWWL is a commercial radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports gambling format. The station's studios are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in Downtown New Orleans. The transmitter site is in Algiers, near the city limits of Gretna and Terrytown. The station operates at 5,000 watts during the day and 480 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna. The station is simulcast on FM translator station W225CZ.

KYGO-FM is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado, United States. The Bonneville International country music station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. Its studios are located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is on Mestaa’ehehe Mountain near Morrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKFN</span> Sports radio station in Longmont–Denver, Colorado

KKFN is a commercial radio station serving the Denver-Boulder market. Owned and operated by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International, KKFN airs a sports radio format. The station is licensed to Longmont, Colorado. Its studios are located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is in Lakewood on Green Mountain. KKFN runs local sports shows days and evenings, and carries ESPN Radio programming late nights and weekends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KIMN</span> Hot adult contemporary radio station in Denver

KIMN is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. The station is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures and airs a Hot AC radio format. Studios and offices are located on Colorado Boulevard in Glendale, and the transmitter site is on Mount Morrison west of Lakewood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altitude Sports and Entertainment</span> American regional sports network

Altitude Sports and Entertainment is an American regional sports cable and satellite television channel owned by Stan Kroenke's Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel, which serves the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, features a mix of professional, collegiate, and high school sporting events as well as some entertainment-based programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKSE-FM</span> Sports radio station in Broomfield–Denver, Colorado

KKSE-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Broomfield, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area and Northern Colorado. KKSE-FM airs a sports talk format branded as "Altitude Sports 92.5 FM." KKSE-FM has studios on South Colorado Boulevard in Glendale, with its transmitter located off Wheatland Road near Fort Lupton in Weld County. It is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures, which also owns sister stations KIMN, KKSE and KXKL-FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kroenke Sports & Entertainment</span> American sports and entertainment company

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is an American sports and entertainment holding company based in Denver, Colorado. Originally known as Kroenke Sports Enterprises, it was started in 1999 by businessman Stan Kroenke to be the parent company of his sports holdings. Today, the company has control of over five professional sport franchises, and one association football club that has two teams: Arsenal F.C. and Arsenal W.F.C., four stadiums, two professional esports franchised teams, four television channels, an internet TV channel, & 19 magazines which operate under the badge Outdoor Sportsman Group, four radio stations which operate under the badge KSE Radio Ventures, LLC, and websites.

WORD, known on-air as "The Fan Upstate", is a sports-formatted AM radio station in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of Upstate South Carolina. The Audacy, Inc. outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to Spartanburg, South Carolina, and broadcasts with a power of 5,000 watts during the day and 65 watts at night using a non-directional antenna. The programming on WORD is simultaneously broadcast on WYRD 1330 AM Greenville; W249DL 97.7 MHz, Greenville; and W246CV 97.1 MHz, Spartanburg. "The Fan Upstate" format can also be heard on WFBC-FM HD3, Greenville. WORD's transmitter is located on the aptly named Broadcast Drive in Spartanburg, while its studios are in Greenville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZRM</span> Spanish-language radio station in Brockton–Boston, Massachusetts

WZRM is a Spanish-language radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts, market, carrying a Spanish contemporary hits format. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, it serves the Metro Boston and South Shore areas of Massachusetts, and is licensed to Brockton. The station's studios are located in Medford and the transmitter site is atop Great Blue Hill.

WOLI is a Regional Mexican AM radio station located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with power of 3,600 watts in the daytime and 890 watts at night under separate directional signal patterns.

KAMP – branded as 1430 AM The Bet – is a commercial sports AM radio station licensed to Aurora, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station's format focuses on sports betting, and is the market affiliate for CBS Sports Radio and the BetQL Network. The KAMP studios located in the Denver Tech Center, while the transmitter is located in nearby Highlands Ranch, near Colorado State Highway 470.

KPLS is an AM radio station licensed to Littleton, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. KPLS is owned by Radio 74 Internationale. In May 2020, the station transitioned to airing a Christian format following a transfer of ownership.

KMXA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Aurora, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. It broadcasts a Spanish-language Sports format and is owned by Entravision Communications Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEPN</span> ESPN Radio affiliate in Lakewood, Colorado

KEPN is a commercial radio station licensed to Lakewood, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. It is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International with studios and located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is in Lakewood.

WHLL – branded as Nueva 98.1 – is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Spanish-language latin pop format licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Springfield metropolitan area; and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. The WHLL studios are located at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, alongside sister stations WMAS-FM and WWEI, while the station transmitter, shared with WMAS-FM, resides in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WHLL simulcasts over low-power analog Springfield translator W251CT (98.1 FM) and on the second HD Radio channel of WMAS-FM, and streams online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMTT</span> ESPN Radio affiliate in Vancouver, Washington, United States

KMTT is a commercial radio station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, broadcasting to the Portland, Oregon and Clark County, Washington. KMTT is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a sports format with programming from ESPN Radio. The studios are located south of downtown Portland, and the transmitter site is in the city's northeast side along the Columbia River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJAC</span> Radio station in Timnath–Fort Collins, Colorado

KJAC is a non-commercial public radio station located in Timnath, Colorado, broadcasting to the Fort Collins-Denver, Colorado area on 105.5 FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWBL</span> Country music radio station in Denver

KWBL is a commercial radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts a country format branded as 106.7 The Bull. KWBL carries two nationally syndicated country music shows from co-owned Premiere Networks: The Bobby Bones Show on weekday mornings and CMT Nites with Cody Alan heard overnight. The radio studios are located in the Denver Tech Center.

KKCL is a commercial radio station licensed to Golden, Colorado, and serving the Denver/Boulder media market. The station airs a modern AC/adult album alternative format branded as The Cloud. The station had previously spent time as a sports radio station and a cannabis culture-themed classic rock station known as Smokin' 94.1.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KKSE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "KKSE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ "KKSE Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  4. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/KKSE-AM
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 24
  6. ↑ "DENVER RADIO: 80 Years of Change". Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Remembering Boulder's fab time with The Beatles - Second Story Garage". Second Story Garage. August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ "KIMN Radio - Colorado Music Hall of Fame". cmhof.org. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Michael (September 5, 2019). "Remembering Don Martin, Pioneer of Live News Coverage in Denver". Westword. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame 2007 Inductees". Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-04-15.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  12. ↑ "New station gets Moe for its money", The Denver Post, May 5, 1995.
  13. ↑ "KKFN Marks 25th Anniversary". March 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ "The Fan Denver Moves to FM". March 7, 2008.
  15. ↑ "KRWZall Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  16. ↑ "Oldies radio set to make comeback in Denver with KRWZ". September 2, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Entercom Acquires Lincoln Financial Media" from Radio Insight (December 8, 2014)
  18. ↑ "FCC OKs Lincoln Financial-Entercom Deal" from All Access (June 26, 2015)
  19. ↑ "KSE Media Ventures Acquires KRWZ Denver From Entercom" from Radio Insight (December 17, 2015)
  20. ↑ "Altitude Sports 950 Denver Sets Launch Lineup". April 5, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Altitude enters Denver's sports talk radio market". April 4, 2016.
  22. ↑ Rich Eisen [@richeisen] (March 12, 2016). "Starting April 11 on KKSE-AM 950, home of @nuggets @Avalanche and @ColoradoRapids Quite pumped" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "950AM Altitude Sports Radio - Altitude TV". Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  24. ↑ http://www.altitude.tv/media/2307/altitude-sports-radio-press-release-040816.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  25. ↑ "VSiN Comes To Denver". RadioInsight. October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.